The President of Georgia calls on the Georgian Orthodox Church to bless the parishioners for the vaccination against coronavirus.

“900 years ago, Didgori was a battle from which Georgia, with the peoples of the Caucasus, regardless of religious or national affiliation, emerged victorious. It is not only a basis of national pride, but also a representation of our path for the future of the Caucasus.

Didgori today cannot be limited to glorifying the devotion of our ancestors, to be proud of this dignified past and heroism.

Today, our Battle of Didgori is to be won. Today’s Didgori is a war with a pandemic that threatens our population and, therefore, the state, and which has already killed 6278 of our citizens. Isn"t this, for this small nation, equal to a great loss on the battlefield? Didgori is still for us to win even if not on the battlefield. We are in a real battle, and in this battle, as we were 900 years ago, we must be prudent, courageous, and bound together.

It is unfortunate that even this issue has become the subject of mark-winning, politicization and national confrontation. That some so-called politicians dare from their comfort on the outside and insult those selfless individuals of the medical world who, on top of shining Georgia’s name in the world of medicine abroad, have been dedicating their lives tirelessly for more than a year and a half to help people and save their lives, is completely unacceptable. These people are our modern Didgori heroes, they are highly-respected and dedicated professionals and we have to thank them.

Here too, as in the face of all the great challenges, the main starting point and the only key to victory has been and is in our unity.

This unity was embodied by the Georgian Church, which backed the efforts of victory over the enemy and strengthened the nation. Even today it is necessary for the Church to take its very own and extremely important place in this struggle for survival. The Georgian Church has always stood for personal freedom, choice and responsibility and it still stands for these values today, yet it is hard to imagine today the realization of granted freedom without blessing. Such is the challenge and choice of responsibility of the Church today. For we must all win this battle together, representatives of the medical field, government agencies and leaders, the community and the Church. We will all be responsible for tomorrow’s outcome”, - said Salome Zourabichvili.